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Monday, August 7, 2017

The First International Match of …..-Part 4 (Germany, 1908)

Germany
had played Representative matches since the end of the 19th Century,
but it took almost a decade until 1908 when it finally officially entered the
International Arena.

The
German Federation had been in existence for eight years before this historic
event.

The
objective of the German Football hierarchy was the 1912 Olympics and therefore
preparations and matches had to get underway.
The Germans agreed in early 1908 to face their Swiss neighbors at Basel on
April 5th, 1908.

The
two organs of the DfB (Federal Executive Board and Bundesspiele Committee) were
tasked with the selection process.

This was no easy task as it was difficult at the time to assess
the best players.

It was decided in February 1908 in Hanover to invite players from all regions of Germany
where organized Football was being played to select the squad.

The
purpose of this selection process was not to necessarily select the best eleven
players, but regional considerations were taken into account such that each
Association was represented.

In
the end eleven players (who hardly knew one another) from eleven different
clubs (representing nine cities) were selected. Düsseldorf’s Willy
Bäumgartner became the youngest national player of all time in the German
team. He was 17 years and 4 months old on Matchday.

The communication between the Federation and the players was also
farcical. The players learned of their selection through the Press.

Fritz Becker (September 13,1888-February 22, 1963) was the first
ever Frankfurt based player for the National Team. In 1906, he became known for
his performance against the English team Newcastle United.

Becker would claim that he had virtually no contact with the
Federation even after the press release and could not verify his selection from
them. He was informed through Frankfurt based members of the DfB that he had in
fact been selected. The match was to take place on the Sunday and by Thursday
he received a letter from the Federation, but the letter contained no relevant
information (place to meet, tickets, etc). Ultimately, the players had to pay
for their own travel expenses. The Federation paid and provided the Uniforms.

Becker was given the Train information on the following day, on
Friday, for Saturday departure. At the train station, he was to take a train
coming from Berlin. As passengers were getting off he grew desperate, as he
could not see any Federation contacts. Finally, an older Gentleman, that he had
never met, asked him “are you that Becker from Frankfurt? “.

Upon an affirmative response, he gave Becker the ticket and he
just got in the train as the doors were being closed.

By Sunday morning in the Basel Hotel Metropol the squad was to
gather at 9 AM.

Once there, there was hardly any talk about match tactics, but the
more talks about how to conduct themselves with proper etiquette at the
post-match banquet.

Afterwards, they were invited on a tour of the City by the Swiss
hosts that included a visit to the Zoological Garden.

The match was held at Basel’s Landhof
Stadion. The match Referee was the Swiss H. P. Devitte. He was actually an
Englishman residing in Switzerland.

He was dressed in a blue suit with a black hat.

The attendance (near 4,000) was surprisingly high and included
many women. It was believed that the high turnout of women was because each
woman was promised a bar of chocolate upon entry, however, this has not been
proven.

The match was played under heavy rain (in the official team
photographs of both teams, fans can be seen holding umbrellas).

The Germans started the match better and in the 6th
minute, Fritz Becker became the first ever goalscorer in the History of the
German National Team.

The ball from Hempel found Weymar who then moved the ball to the
right side to Hensel. He ran about 20 yards and crossed to the center to
Forderer who got the ball near the goal. Swiss goalkeeper Ivan
Dreyfus tried to intercept, but Becker was faster and got to it first and
scored.

The
Swiss tied the match in the 21st minute through Hans Kämpfer.

Seven minutes later, Germany’s Ernst Jordan scored
an own goal to give the Swiss the lead. In some sources this goal was credited
either to Daniel Hug or Siegfried
Pfeiffer.

A few minutes later Siegfried Pfeiffer scored
Switzerland’s third goal. At half time the score was 3-1 to the home team.

Fritz Becker, the first goalscorer, would later recall that it was
only during the half time that a tactical discussion took place. They were
told, "The runners should get up to win the midfield”.

Early in the second half, in the 52nd minute, Fritz
Forderer reduced the deficit by scoring Germany’s second goal. However, five
minutes later, Siegfried Pfeiffer scored Switzerland’s fourth.

Germany
fought back and Fritz Becker scored
his second goal of the evening.

However, with just one minute remaining, Hans Kämpfer
scored Switzerland’s fifth goal for a final score of (Switzerland 5-Germany 3).

Incidentally, this was the first ever International
victory of the Swiss National Team and their third ever match.

Many feel a contributing factor for the German loss
was lack of understanding between the German defenders who had never played
together before.

The rain clearly affected the German defense.

Ernst
Jordan (May 18, 1883- 1948) and Walter Hempel (August
12, 1887-December 1939 (or January 10, 1940)) were chosen as the
defensive duo. The left back, Jordan was criticized for his play and constantly
slipping on the rainy surface and giving away an own goal. Jordan was actually
selected after Heinrich Riso had forfeited due to injury.

Hempel
would fare better and play in the 1912 Olympics.

It was believed that for the German Federation the
result was of a secondary concern to the post-banquet.

The DfB were inexperienced for such events and were
fearful of any faux pas in terms of Football protocol and eager to make a good
impression.

In fact given the conditions for presenting and
selecting the team and the chaos surrounding, many felt this expedition was
regarded as a successful one.

The eleven German players all receive a gift of Red marbles with
three gold-plated letters ‘DFB’.

Just
15 days later, on April 20th, the Germans would play their very
first match on home soil against the English Amateurs but lose once more (1-5).

However,
the first step was taken in the creation of a National Team that would mark
Football History.

Note:

1- Willy
Bäumgartner (December 23, 1890-November 16, 1953) played on the left wing in
the match. He would immigrate to South America in 1930 and many would lose
track of him by 1932. It would be later known that he had been one of the
founders of a Brazilian club in Sao Paulo.

2-Fritz Baumgarten (December 21, 1886-May 17,
1961), the Berlin based goalkeeper was still a student. He was a
teammate of Peco Bauwens, the future German player, Referee and Administrator.
He knew someone in Basel and as a result had lodgings. Upon returning to
Berlin, he was glad that no one had read the sports pages to learn of his
unauthorized absence. This would be his only cap for his Nation.

3-Hamburg based Hans Weymar (February 1, 1886-July 1959) traveled
to Switzerland with Hugo Egon Kubaseck, the chairman of the German Football
Federation. He would die of a heart attack in 1959 on a tennis court.

4-Eugen Kipp (February 26, 1885-November 10, 1931) would be the
first record holder of International appearances. He would earn 18 caps until
1913.

He
was wounded during the World War I and his right leg had to be amputated. He
also had bayonet wounds in his jaw and shoulder.

He
died aged 46, from the consequences of his serious injuries.

5- Fritz Becker had to borrow a tuxedo at a pawn-house for
twenty-two Marks, in order to be able to take part in this post match
reception. At the end of the evening there were mustard stains on the tuxedo
and he had to give ten marks for the cleaning.